Max Lockwood
Hi Max! It was great to look into your blog. I wonder if you could go a little deeper in your āAbout Meā section by explaining what occupational therapy really is. That might help readers who arenāt as familiar with the field connect more with your perspective. While I love how your blog post is laid out so nicely, including a lot of multimedia, it would be awesome to see you infuse a bit of colour into your website to really make it pop!
I really liked how you described learning as something that comes from practice and real-life application. Your example from anatomy shows that you have strong strategies for your own learning by watching crash course videos, studying ahead of time, and taking notes. Hearing that you hand-write notes is awesome, that definitely makes the material stick in your brain! Nowadays in lecture it seems like everyone is on laptops and theyāre definitely missing out on that opportunity. Iām glad to hear that these strategies helped you feel less overwhelmed and more confident.
I really relate to what you said about cognitivism. Having information organized and easy-to-follow makes such a difference when learning. I love how you connected this to your work experiences, and itās awesome that using clear documents and hour-by-hour outlines not only helped you, but also made things go smoother for the people you were working with.
Lastly, I liked your point about self-concept in adult learning. Wanting to try things on your own first shows that independence, but also knowing when to ask for help is a super important balance. That mix of self-reliance and willingness to seek support will definitely help you in both school and your future career.
Sasha Trickey
Hi Sasha! When I first looked into your blog, it was pretty basic, but it looks like you’ve really individualized it! I loved seeing the difference between you in Kindergarten and then your first day as a student teacher, that’s super cute! I know you said you wanted to infuse some colour into your site, so here is a YouTube video I found that can help you out with that!
I loved how you described learning as not just receiving information but also in the way that we interpret and connect it to the world around us. Your experience as an Early Childhood Educator really highlights how much learning is tied to trust, relationships, and early literacy. Itās easy to dismiss how much kids learn before they even get to school, just by observing and interacting with the world around them.
I understand what you said about struggling with online learning, although Iād rather be engaged in an online class than tired and disengaged because Iād dragged myself to an 8:30am. Itās not for everyone, but online learning definitely makes education more accessible. Itās great that youāve found strategies like flashcards and Quizlet to make online learning more manageable.
Your point about confidence really stood out to me. Itās so true that students are more likely to try when they believe they can succeed, I definitely feel that way too. I like your reminder that teachers should highlight what students are already doing well, not just what they need to fix, building trust and motivation.
Lastly, I appreciate how you talked about biases in adult learning. Your math example showed how an engaging teacher can completely change how we see a subject (any chance that prof was Tom Thompson??), which is such an important concept in the career weāre going into!
Sophia Votova
Hi Sophia! I really enjoyed looking into your blog and reading your “About Me.” While I love all the multimedia you integrated into your first blog post, I wonder if you could look further into captivating titles and which title words get capitalized!
I like how you connected memory to learning and I agree that the two really go hand-in-hand. Your point about cramming really stood out to me. Iāve done that too many times, and while it works short-term, I always forget the material quickly. As an education major, I think moving assessment away from grade-based exams where students will cram to get that A toward deep-learning inquiry assignments is so important. Breaking down memory into encoding, consolidation, and retrieval makes it l easy to understand why real, deep learning takes time and practice.
I also thought it was interesting how you linked your dance teaching to these theories. Even without knowing the names of the theories at the time, you were already using them in practice, which shows how natural some of these approaches can be when teaching.
Finally, I really enjoyed your knitting example with Jenny. It showed how all the theories can overlap to make a lesson engaging and meaningful. I think if I were in her class too, Iād feel confident because Iām set up for success.